Nerja and La Axarquía on film and TV: locations you already know without realising it

Some places become stars without ever trying. Nerja and La Axarquía are exactly that kind of place: a region that has appeared on screens around the world, from Spanish television in the 1980s to today's most powerful international streaming platforms. If you have ever watched one of these productions, there is a good chance you already know these landscapes without having visited — or that when you arrived, you had that strange feeling of recognising them from somewhere.

Here is the cinematic history of Nerja and La Axarquía: longer and more international than you might expect.

Verano Azul (1981): The Shoot That Put Nerja on the Map

Everything starts here. Verano Azul was for a long time — and perhaps still is — the best example of the value a film shoot can bring to a village. Suddenly all of Spain knew where Nerja was, until then an unknown little fishing town on the eastern Costa del Sol.

Antonio Mercero's series, broadcast by TVE in 1981 and starring Antonio Ferrandis as Chanquete, turned Nerja into the setting for the most famous summer in Spanish television history. But the details of the shoot are richer than most people remember:

• At Playa de la Caleta in Maro, scenes were filmed including Javi's rescue in episode 1 and the famous "Chanquete ha muerto" scene in the penultimate episode. In the series it is called Cala Chica.
• At Playa de Calahonda, at the foot of the Balcón de Europa, the scene where Julia meets the other children in the first episode was filmed.
• The Nerja Caves were used for part of the episode "La cueva del gato verde", specifically the interior scenes in which Pancho has his accident.

Some exterior shots of the characters' houses were filmed in nearby Torrox. Chanquete's boat — La Dorada — still sits in the Parque Verano Azul in Nerja, and continues to draw visitors who come specifically to relive the series, decades later.

La Axarquía as an International Set: Netflix Series and More

What Verano Azul did for Nerja in the 1980s, streaming platforms are doing for the whole of La Axarquía in the 21st century. The Axarquía Film Office, created to attract productions to the region, has advised more than twenty national and international production companies in their search for locations.

Productions such as Warrior Nun (Netflix), Toy Boy (Netflix/Atresmedia), Snatch, Brigada Costa del Sol and an international Coca-Cola advertisement have all filmed in La Axarquía. The region offers production companies something few areas of Spain can match: beach, cliffs, caves, white villages and sierra, all within a radius of less than 40 kilometres.

Warrior Nun (Netflix)

This international Netflix production about a young woman with superpowers caught in a battle between good and evil used several locations across the province of Málaga for its first season. La Cueva del Tesoro in Rincón de la Victoria — the only marine-origin cave open to visitors in Europe — was one of the locations used by the production.

No Return (ITV/BBC)

The British series No Return filmed some scenes on the beaches of Nerja. The production, a family thriller starring Sheridan Smith, used the Nerja coastline as the setting for its Spain-based storylines.

El tiempo que te doy (Netflix Spain)

The Spanish series El tiempo que te doy also came to Nerja for part of its filming. The production starring Nadia de Santiago and Álvaro Cervantes used the town's beaches and corners as the backdrop for its story.

Toy Boy (Netflix/Atresmedia)

Toy Boy filmed in several locations in Rincón de la Victoria and Vélez-Málaga. This Spanish Netflix production, set in a Costa del Sol strip club, became one of the most internationally watched Spanish series on the platform.

Frigiliana: European Film Set

The most photogenic village in La Axarquía has also featured in international productions. Some of the principal sequences of the Canadian film "Follow Your Sunshine", the first part of the "Lovaganza Convoy" trilogy, were filmed in Frigiliana. And an international Coca-Cola advertisement filmed in Frigiliana generated worldwide promotion for the village that would be almost impossible to quantify.

The Axarquía Film Office has also received interest from Bollywood productions, which have recognised in the region the combination of Mediterranean light, Andalusian architecture and sierra landscape that they look for in their films.

Hollywood Location Scouts in Nerja

The cinematic interest in Nerja is neither accidental nor recent. International film professionals have visited Nerja to scout locations for their productions. The group included professionals from the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, Spain and Switzerland, working for companies such as Netflix, Zeta Cinema, Fifth Season, Studio Babelsberg and Focus Features. Among the productions these scouts have worked on are films and series including Interstellar, Downton Abbey, The King's Speech, Guardians of the Galaxy, Skyfall and Mission: Impossible — Rogue Nation.

In Nerja they showed particular interest in the beaches of El Salón and Calahonda and the Balcón de Europa. The combination of crystal-clear water, cliffs, white architecture and Mediterranean light makes Nerja a setting that suits almost any production looking for southern Europe.

Why Nerja and La Axarquía Attract So Many Productions

It is no coincidence. The region has several attributes that make it a magnet for production companies:

• Diverse locations in a small area: beach, cliffs, caves, white villages, sierra and subtropical vegetation within less than 40 kilometres.
• Exceptional light: over 320 sunny days a year and a quality of Mediterranean light that directors of photography particularly value.
• Production support: the Axarquía Film Office advises production companies on location searches and permit management.
• Proximity to Málaga airport: easy access for international technical crews and actors.
• Authenticity: Nerja and its surrounding villages have kept their Andalusian character, making them visually unique compared to more heavily developed areas of the Costa del Sol.

The Nerja Film Route: Visit the Locations in Person

If you want to see these places through a different lens, here are the most recognisable locations to visit during your stay:

• Balcón de Europa — Nerja's most photographed spot and a recurring location in national and international productions.
• Playa de Calahonda — where Julia met the other children in Verano Azul.
• Playa de la Caleta (Maro) — Verano Azul's Cala Chica, where some of the most memorable scenes were filmed.
• Nerja Caves — the setting for "La cueva del gato verde" in Verano Azul and one of Spain's most visited monuments.
• Parque Verano Azul — where Chanquete's boat La Dorada is still anchored.
• Frigiliana — location for international productions and the Coca-Cola advertisement.

Experience Nerja From the Inside

The best way to discover these locations is to stay in a private villa in Nerja with enough time to explore them at your own pace. At Narixa Villas we manage holiday villas in Nerja and La Axarquía for all group sizes. Browse our available villas or contact us directly.

And if you want to keep discovering the region beyond what has appeared on screen, read our article on alternative things to do in Nerja and La Axarquía or our complete history of Nerja.